Tip: Don’t miss the free printable prayer in this post.

“Should I sign up for this class?”

“Will I really have time to invest in it?”

I really want to take the class.

I’m praying about an opportunity for next fall. With a couple of unknowns about the fall, I’m hesitant to commit time and money. Time is approaching for an answer, and I’m asking God to show me what’s best. I’m seeking God’s guidance. His answer.

Seeking guidance and waiting for answers can be frustrating.

Should we buy this house? Take that job? Homeschool or public school? We often need God’s guidance, yet sometimes His responses don’t seem clear. Seeking God’s guidance can sometimes feel like groping in the dark. Fumbling, you try to find the way by feeling with hands outstretched.

The following verses, meanings, and truths have been on my heart, in my prayers, and they are sinking into my spirit.

O my God, in You I [have unwavering] trust [and I rely on You with steadfast confidence],
Do not let me be ashamed or my hope in You be disappointed...–Psalm 25:2 AMP

Trusting God is the foundation for recognizing God’s guidance.

So often I worry about getting things right.

• Knowing the right answers, and making the right decisions.
• I worry about knowing the right answers so I can do the right things.
• I long to make the right decision. The best choice.

Do you sense the problem here? In my fear of getting it wrong, I’m paralyzed by making a wrong decision. Truth is, I’m missing the blessing. God is showing me a different way.

[tweetthis twitter_handles=”via@GingHarrington” hidden_hashtags=”#Godguides #Godleads #WaitonGod”]God’s guidance is always about more than the answer.[/tweetthis]

Five things you need to know about God when you need guidance.

1. God causes us to learn.

Make me know Your ways.

This is a request of faith, an admission of need. Make me know–the doing is on God. He’s the One who causes us to know. He has the answers, and He is the answer.

We participate when we seek, but the knowing is His work in our soul.

Know: To perceive. To know by experience. To cause to know.

Your ways: Direction. Manner. Habit. Character.

2. God gives more than answers; he teaches us how to live.

Teach me Your paths.

Teach: To be taught. To be trained.

Path: Road. Way of living. Way.

So often this is what I want:

• a solution to a problem
• a fix for an issue
• a supply for a need

God teaches us His ways–His guidance, His manner, and His character. Shimmering beneath the surface of these simple words is the heart of God–that we would seek to know Him more than constantly coming for the blessing, the answer, the fix, or the formula.

My way of living has been built on doing the right things and making the right decisions…so I won’t fail. So I won’t get it wrong, do it wrong…

So I’ll be accepted, approved, and valued. God’s way helps me let go of the striving of self-rightness.

3. God’s guidance is about a relationship.

Lead me in Your truth.

God’s way of leading is relational.

Lead: To cause to go, lead, march, tread.

So often, what we seek is too small. Too narrow–answers squeezed tight in all our trying to get it right on our own. Give me the wisdom and I’ll work hard to do it well. Sound familiar?

A relational word, to lead someone is to come along side. To go with and show the way, step by step. This one concept can refresh your heart as you seek guidance.

If you’re going on a trip to a new place, which would you choose?

1. Take a map and find your way on your own.
2. Take a guide who knows the way and will be a companion for the journey.

4. Salvation happens every day.

For You are the God of my salvation.

Salvation: yesha`

• Deliverance, salvation, rescue.
• Safety, welfare, prosperity.
• Victory.

Salvation means much more than getting into heaven.

• Deliverance from the power of sin.
• Saving from death to life.
• Rescuing us from the ideas, habits, and situations that hold us in captive.
• Safety of knowing security as a child of God.
• Welfare–our well-being comes through the provision and blessing of God. Our being OK both now and eternally.
• Prosperity–We can fully live and enjoy true life.
• Victory over sin, death, lies, behaviors, feelings, beliefs, failures, and ungodly habits.

Salvation is for this minute. For an hour from now. For tomorrow.

And for every day until time fades into the light of eternity. Salvation is a gift for living and enjoying every day. When God saves us from our selves, we experience a fresh start every day.

5. He is worth the wait.

For You I wait all the day.

Wait: To wait, look for, hope, expect. To look eagerly for. To linger for.

We often think of waiting on God in hard situations that hang heavy on our hearts. Waiting isn’t all bad, and it doesn’t have to always be hard.

Sometimes waiting is anticipation. Waiting for the bride to arrive, a baby to be born, or new growth to blossom.

God is guiding and the answer will come–but in the process–this is what I’m learning about God’s guidance:

• I come for a plan; He shows me His ways.
• I ask for a specific; He teaches me a way of living.
• I want to make a decision; He reveals His heart.
• I want to do right: He saves me to be right.
• I wait for an answer; He says wait on Me.

Is He worth the wait?

You bet!

What have you learned about God’s guidance?